Pusley wants his promises kept

Mike Pusley knows his campaign promises may not be as easy to keep as they were to make.

The goals he spoke of during his campaign are typical of a challenger attempting to oust an incumbent: accountability, openness and spending cuts, seasoned with criticism of the incumbent Commissioners Court's past decisions on special-interest projects.

Weeks after his narrow victory over incumbent Peggy Bañales, Pusley said accomplishing his goals will come down to winning support on the Commissioners Court.

"I might not be a popular guy for a while," Pusley said.

He makes that prediction because one of his goals is to clean up commissioners' reputation. He wants to freeze commissioners' salaries, institute term limits and stop what he describes as county government cronyism.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Betty Jean Longoria said commissioners will have to work together for Pusley to accomplish those goals.

"I've been in politics 21 years and something I've never done is promise," she said. "I said I'd do my best. You need to be very careful when you promise. You're only one person. You're only one vote."

When Pusley learned commissioners were set to make appointments to the Port of Corpus Christi Commission before he takes office Jan. 1, he asked for that decision to be postponed.

"There is a perception that people put their buddies in there," Pusley said. "I think, here's a lame-duck Commissioners Court. Let's wait until the new one gets on."

Bañales said appointing board members in December is standard.

"I remember when I was first elected, they made appointments before I took office," she said. "It's nothing unusual."

Commissioners won't wait because they want new board members sworn in Jan. 1, the same day as Pusley, said Precinct 4 Commissioner Chuck Cazalas.

"It has always been this way," he said. "We're not playing games."

Cazalas noted he voluntarily declined pay raises since taking office in January 2003 and the new commissioner could do the same.

"If (Pusley) wants to give back his salary or cut it in half, he is free to do that as an individual," Cazalas said. "Once he realizes what we're paid and why, and the work that goes into it, he might be surprised."

The term limits Pusley said he would want to institute wouldn't get support from the county's longest-serving commissioner, Precinct 3 Commissioner Oscar Ortiz.

"People elect us to do a job," Ortiz said. "It takes more than one term to learn how to be a county commissioner."

Pusley said he also wants to correct what he sees as past commissioners' mistakes.

He wants to push forward stalled roadwork on County Road 52, a delay he blames on Bañales. About $118,000 earmarked for road rehabilitation instead went to pay for office renovations for Bañales' husband, District Judge J. Manuel Bañales. Commissioners created a second office for the judge at the courthouse after he was appointed as presiding judge of the 5th Judicial District.

Bañales said she transferred the money while the county waited for the city to match its contribution, a requirement for the project, which is overseen by the state. The city has the matching funds now because of the street bond issue passing, so the project is on track to move forward.

Repairing the relationship between city and county officials is also a top priority, Pusley said.

"We're serving the same people," he said. "We need to look at the projects we share and help do things like improve downtown together."

One of the commissioners' biggest challenges will be deciding the future of the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds -- a project Pusley harshly criticized while campaigning.

"The people of this county don't want to see another dime spent there," Pusley said. "For good or for bad, the county is in the fairgrounds business. We need to look at it like a business and see what we can do to make it successful."